My eyes become heavy. I have slept poorly since the marking.
Mistress Nina’s breathing turns to a light snore, and I smile sleepily.
My eyes lift to the little window that looks out the back. Moonlight glitters upon the rooftops of the town.
Come.
The hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I glance across at Mistress Nina, who still snores softly in her rocking chair.
Quickly, I tidy away the rest of the writing supplies. Then I go upstairs and change into a sensible woolen dress, boots, and a warm cloak.
Come,the voice whispers again.
Come to us, mate,a third voice adds.
A single wolf howls in the distance—then another, and then a third.
I swallow hard. Heat settles low in my belly, a fluttering awareness, a pull I cannot name.
My letter is on the kitchen table. Mistress Nina will know what to do and ensure it reaches my parents. She will understand, too, when she wakes and finds I am gone.
There is no more hesitation. Taking my private stairs down to my front door, creeping slowly, I slip outside.
A pair of soldiers patrol the far side of the street, twenty paces away, their backs turned to me.
I wait until they move farther along, then carefully—quiet as I can—I draw my front door shut. My eyes settle on the marks they left there. I pause to run my fingers over the deepest gouges in the center of the door, the second set along the frame. Then I crouch to touch the sharp groove carved into the front step.
I am coming.
I rise, glance once more to be sure the soldiers are gone, and turning, head for the woods.
Chapter Six
EVANTHE
The forest waits for me, vast and silver under the moon. My footsteps gain speed the closer I draw until I reach its edges and sink into its embrace.
The mark beneath my skin throbs softly, guiding me through the dark. I run on, leaving the lights of the town behind, until the path opens onto a clearing I recognize—and the ancient oak tree I once rested beneath, seeking sanctuary.
Above, its bare branches stretch wide and black against the sky, touched here and there by frost.
I sink down to my knees before the great trunk, breath clouding the air. The cold seeps into me, and I shiver.
Mine.
My eyelids flutter. It feels like I succumb to the pull of exhaustion and darkness for only a moment, to blink and find many hours have passed by.
Quiet is stirred by creaking branches, and a soft crunch like footsteps upon frozen leaves.
My pulse quickens.
From between the trees steps the black wolf. Steam rises from his flanks, his panting breath a mist. His eyes catch the moonlight, clear and blue.
He stops a few paces away, watching me.
He isn’t alone. Behind him, two more shapes hang back, giving me nothing but the blink of their blue eyes.
Chapter Seven
